christiebaker

All this week, Pando has been reporting on the connections between Chris Christie supporter Charles Baker, venture firm General Catalyst and millions of dollars of New Jersey pension money. After Baker made a sizable donation to Christie's state party, New Jersey decided to hand millions of dollars of public pension money to General Catalyst, for whom Baker works as a partner. The story, which involves state and federal pay-to-play rules, is made all the more explosive by the fact that Baker is currently a Republican candidate for governor of Massachusetts.

Boston TV station WCVB and the Boston Globe are reporting this morning that Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is requesting a federal investigation of the pension scandal first exposed by Pando and now engulfing Gov. Chris Christie and Massachusetts GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker. Her call was echoed by the co-chairman of the New Jersey legislature's Select Committee on Investigation.

This past weekend, Pando has been reporting on the rapidly growing scandal over New Jersey handing millions of dollars of public pension money to VC firm General Catalyst after a partner in the firm, Charles Baker, made a sizable donation to governor Chris Christie’s state party. The story, which involves state and federal pay-to-play rules, is made all the more explosive by the fact that Baker is currently a Republican candidate for governor of Massachusetts.

On Friday, Pando's David Sirota reported that General Catalyst partner and executive in residence Charles Baker – the Republican nominee for Massachusetts governor – made a $10,000 contribution to the New Jersey Republican State Committee just months before Gov. Chris Christie’s administration awarded General Catalyst a pension contract.

On Friday, Pando reported that General Catalyst partner and executive in residence Charles Baker - the Republican nominee for Massachusetts governor - made a $10,000 contribution to the New Jersey Republican State Committee just months before Gov. Chris Christie's administration awarded General Catalyst a pension contract. Experts including a former SEC chairman and a former federal prosecutor told Pando the contribution likely violated pay-to-play rules.

“It is a compelling interest of this State to prohibit awarding government contracts to business entities which are also contributors to candidates, political parties and the holders of public office.” - New Jersey "pay to play" statute
As Pando has previously reported, New Jersey has some of the nation’s strongest anti pay-to-play and anti-corruption laws and rules. These aim to prohibit public pension contracts from being awarded to investment firms whose executives make financial contributions to politicians, election funds and political party organizations operating in the state. They are buttressed by SEC rules engineered to do the same thing.